


Accidents Happen

by writers_writers



Series: Hetalia Soulmate AUs [5]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Angst, Fluff, Hurt and comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, PTSD, Trauma, it's fluffier than the tags lead you to believe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-24 01:26:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8350861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writers_writers/pseuds/writers_writers
Summary: The Vargas boys have not had the easiest lives and they aren't going to get easier anytime soon.The soulmate AU where you have a compass on your arm that points towards your soulmate.((Note: I've never been in a bilingual class and it's been over 10 year since I've been in Kindergarten. So give me a break.))





	1. Chapter 1

"Come on Lovi, you don't want to be late to meet your teachers."

The small group was hurriedly moving down a crowded hallway in the midst of other soon to be students and soon to be free parents with the tiny Italian trailed slowly behind his grandfather, dragging his feet.

"Lovino," Romulus said sternly, stopping to see why his grandson wasn't moving as quickly as he. His stern look dropped as he saw the tears shining in his grandson's eyes and slowly rolling down his cheeks.

He dropped to his knees as Feliciano, Lovino's twin, moved from behind their grandfather to get closer to his weeping brother.

"Fratello?" Feli asked, voice cracking as he took his brother's hands. "What's wrong?"

Lovino sniffled. "I don't wanna be here," he whimpered rubbing his eyes.

Grandpa Rome (as Feliciano called him) gently put his hand on his grandson's shoulder. "I know it's very loud and really scary in here, but starting school is going to be a lot of fun and you're going to meet so many other children your age, I bet you'll make tons of new friends. I loved school when I was a child."

Romano's head snapped up, angry tears replacing his saddened ones. 

"I don't wanna go to school here. I wanna go to school at home. I wanna go back home! I wanna go back to momma and papa and grandma and I wanna see Romeo again. I don't want him to be stuck in the hospital. I want to-"

He was cut off when Romulus pulled him into a tense hug.

"I know, my grandson. I wish I could bring you to your parents but I can't. Your parents and Grandma are with God and it would be cruel to bring them back now. And Romeo needs to stay in the hospital so he can get better. He isn't there forever I promise."

He felt a hard tug on his sleeve and he looked over to see Feliciano sniffling as well, tears streaming down his cheeks.

He extended his arm to pull both to him, trying to calm their crying.

"I miss them too. They were not just your family but mine as well. My children, my wife. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt for a long time. Long after your brother gets out of the hospital, long after you have finished Kindergarten and school and even after you become grandparents yourselves. You must always have them in your heart, because that's the best place to keep them."

He pulled back and kissed away their tears one more time before standing up. Ignoring the quizzical looks from the adults around him, Romulus offered his hand to the pair.

"Alright now, let's go meet your teacher, I'm pretty sure she would appreciate us being on time."

Feliciano nodded but Lovino kept his eyes down.

"Lovi?"

He did not move.

Romulus sighed and dropped back down for one more hug.

"If I promise we can go see Romeo tonight, will you come with us to meet your teacher?"

Lovino looked up with hopeful eyes.

"Okay nonno."

Grandpa Rome smiled.

"Okay then, let's get going."

* * *

 

"What do you mean you are not Feliciano's teacher?" Grandpa Rome said, voice catching on the last word.

The dark haired woman put on a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry sir, it's our school policy to separate identical twins. It saves a lot of hassle for the teachers and helps the children develop their own identity away from being a matching pair."  
Grandpa Rome rolled his eye. He could almost imagine the woman standing in front of him reading the statement off of pre made notecards. 

"Look, Ms..."

"Karpusi," she chirped with a bright smile that made her eyes crinkle in the corners.

"Well Ms. Karpusi, here's the situation. My grandsons have recently experienced a drastic tragedy. They would really benefit from being close to each other. Is there any chance you can make an exception?"

Her smile faltered.

"They're your grandsons? You don't look that old."

He paused for a moment partially annoyed by her skewed priority, and flattered by her assumption.

"Well thank you, but I seriously need to talk to someone about-"

He was interrupted by a tug on his pants.

Romulus looked down to see. A dark haired Hispanic boy grasping his clothing and looking nervously around.

"Can I help you little one _?"_

The boy jumped and looked up with the most innocent looking green eyes Romulus had seen since his grandson.

" _I'm sorry_!" The young boy squeaked in spanish, jumping back, " _I thought you were my grandpa_."

Romulus bit his lip trying to recall his minimal Spanish speaking.

Pulling what he could, he knelt down to the boy and gently touched his shoulder.

" _That is okay. Do you need help finding your grandpa?"_

The boy's head swirled around looking at all the adults around him.

" _No he is over there_ ," he murmured pointing.

Grandpa Rome chuckled gently and ruffled the boy's hair. " _Alright then. But when you get closer, check that that is him before you start pulling on his clothing_."

The boy smiled then nodded and began to walk away before turning back around.

"Thank you Mr..."

"Vargas," he finished for him. " _But you may call me nonno_."

The brunette nodded again then added, "My name is Antonio," before walking all the way back to his grandpa.

Romulus stood up, grunting when his back popped.

"Sorry about that. So, can we talk about putting them together?"

The teacher put her finger to her lips.

"I don't know. The principal is pretty strict about it,but... in all honesty I would not mind having them both and I believe if what you are saying is true, it would be best to keep them together.

She glanced over to where the Feli was excitedly talking to his teacher, a tall, stern, looking blond, and where Lovino was standing arms crossed, next to a energetic looking albino child.

"They seems to be easily distinguishable."

Romulus sighed with relief and offered a gentle and warm smile that Mrs. Karpusi took with a blush.

"Thank you _bella_ , er, I mean ma'am."

She smiled, then her eyes sharpened as she suddenly thought of something.

"Do they mind accidentally being called the wrong names?"

Grandpa Rome bit his lip slightly and tilted his head.

"Lovino does, but Feliciano just laughs. If you aren't sure, call them Lovi. It prevents one of Lovino's tantrums," he said with a low sigh as he recalled Lovi's expression the last time they had been mixed up.

The teacher nodded.

"Alright, let me talk to Mr. Beilsmidt who is Feliciano's teacher and then we'll talk to the principal about putting those two together."

Romulus smiled and turned to walk away but stopped when he suddenly remembered something.

"Actually, their brother gets out of the hospital just in time for school. I'm not sure with class he's in, so can you help me figure it out and involve his teacher?"

She flashed him another smile.

"Oh, what grade is he in?"

Romulus dropped his smile in exchange for a surprised look then a sympathetic and nervous one.

"Did I not mention they're triplets?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the cracks begin to show.

Romulus sighed contently as he watched his grandsons in his rear view mirror.

They had insisted Romeo, who was fresh out of the hospital, sit between them and they were excitedly telling him all about the house and the new neighborhood as a whole.

"The house is not as big as our old one," Feliciano chirped.

"And it's kinda quiet," Lovino murmured.

"But it's going to be a lot better with you," Feli added with a smile. The hyper Italian's eyes popped open a little wider and his smile matched the motion. "Oh, and there's some other kids next door.  They are adopted from all over the world. Japan, China, Hong Kong, Viet-viet-viet, Uhhhhhh."

"Vietnam," Lovino corrected, "and that's not all over the world, it's just Asia."

"Well it's a lot of places anyway."

Romeo forced a smile and nodded gently to acknowledge his brothers bickering.

Romulus let out a slow breath as he thought about how thankful he was to have Feliciano and Lovino watching over their sibling.

But several worries and fears still clawed at the back of his mind.

The principal still hadn't gotten back to them about changing the boy's classes to be together and he was beginning to get worried. 

He thought all about the parents who he had conversed with. The smiling couples dragging their hyper children around. The ones who heard though the gossip circles about the accident back home. The mothers offering to bake a casserole for the Vargas boys. The fathers offering help with work on the new house.

Everyone was trying to help in their own way but none of this, Romulus knew, was going to help the boys.  

For a long few moments, he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he mentally ran through names of the parents who knew their children were going to be in the same classes as the boys if they weren't moved.

"I'll ask Yao about putting Kiku and Feli together, Tino about putting Peter and Romeo with each other and..."

"Nonno?"

Romulus recognized Romeo's weak voice.

"What is it little one?"

"Are you talking to yourself again?"

He glanced in the mirror to see the youngest sibling attempt to make a half hearted smile. It made Romulus happy to see that smile out of the hospital.

Romulus chuckled and smiled.

"Yes I am. It's just me talking out loud to figure out a problem."

"Did it work?" Feliciano asked.

Romulus just shrugged. "Sort of."

Romeo nodded and the boys dissolved back into their vivid description of their new surroundings.

Romulus drummed his fingers on the steering wheel again.

There has to be someone to put Lovino with. It wasn't going to be easy with how easily the child was irritated and how wary he was of new people. He surely wasn't going to be able to communicate with the other children in his class. Bilingual classes in America apparently meant Spanish and English. Not Italian and English.

Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind.

"Boys?"

"Yes?" the triplets chorused together.

"Did any of you meet a little boy named Antonio today?"

He could see Romeo's frown in the mirror.

"Sorry Romeo, I guess that was just a question for your brothers," he said with an apologetic smile.

Romeo rolled his eyes before Lovino brought the conversation back.

"No I don't think so."

Feliciano jumped in.

"I met a lot of boys today. And girls. I don't remember all of their names. But I don't think I can remember a boy named Antonio." 

Romulus sighed, "that is alright boys. I'll figure this out on my own."

"Figure what out Grandpa?" Feliciano asked with a slight head tilt.

"It's nothing," he said waving them off.

The triplets gave him a concerned look before returning to idle chatter.

Worrying his teeth into his lip, Romulus reached down to grab his phone.

Not feeling it, he took his eyes off the road to look down at the cup holder.

Then the car shook violently as the wheel struck a deep pothole.

Romulus' body tightened in fear and his entire body went rigid.

Adrenaline kicking in, he jerked the wheel to his left and into the grass along side the road.

His muscles ached with tension as flashes of images rushed to cloud his vision.

The normal boring drive.  
The low hum of a random talk show on the radio.  
The sound of the triplets bickering in the back.  
The sweet smile of his wife as she looked into his eyes.  
The strangled shout his son-in-law made just before the car jerked violently.  
The feeling of floating as the car flipped several times.  
The seemingly far away crying of Lovino and Feliciano.  
The fear as he lay there trying to stay awake long enough to reach them.  
The mind numbing pain in his leg that finally forced him to succumb to sleep.

"Nonno!"

Romulus startled out of his flashback.

In the rearview mirror he could see Lovino and Feliciano protectively grabbing the edges of Romeo's car seat staring at their grandpa with fearful eyes.

He swallowed heavily and unbuckled his seatbelt to turn to them.

As he got closer he could see they were all crying and Romeo was shaking and desperately grasping his left shoulder.

With gentle fingers, he stroked Romeo's hair.

"Are you boys alright?"

Feliciano and Lovino nodded but the youngest brother seemed frozen.

"Romeo? Did you hit your shoulder?"

"No." His voice was shaky and he seemed to be crying harder now.

"Did I scare you?"

The youngest sibling nodded and scrunched his eyes shut.

"Hold on."

Fumbling with the door, Romulus got out and reached in the back to unbuckle his grandson from his seat.

With a gentle motion, he picked Romeo up and pulled him gently into his arms, the child's head resting on his shoulder.

He could feel the squeeze of his right hand digging into his shirt.

"It's okay Romeo. I just got a little scared that's all," he hummed swaying gently back and forth to calm his grandson down. "Nothing is going to hurt you. You're safe little one."

He glanced over to see his other grandsons looking at the pair worriedly.

He gave them a reassuring smile.

"Can I put you back in your car seat now? It's getting dark and I'm pretty sure you would like some dinner soon."

He could feel Romeo swallow heavily.

"Can you just hold me for a bit longer Nonno?"

Romulus stroked his back and sighed slowly.

"Of course Romeo, as long as you need me to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it isn't obvious, The Vargas Family was in a car accident that killed the boy's parents and their grandmother along with severely injuring Romeo. Grandpa Rome has PTSD from the incident and driving still makes him nervous, but he can't take the bus because someone else driving makes him more nervous. Romeo(Seborga) has stronger memories of it because of his injuries and that's why Rome went for him first when trying to calm everyone down.
> 
> More on that to come.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Romeo is introduced to his new home and things get emotional...again.

"It-it is a bit smaller."

Romulus looked down to see his grandson staring wide eyed at the small entryway. With a low chuckle, he leaned down to pat the child's head.

"Well, we don't need as much space as we used to."

Romeo looked up at him with teary eyes.

"Do we not have money for a bigger house?"

Mildly shocked by the emotion and the perceptiveness, Romulus crouched down to Romeo's level and looked him in the eye.

"We're going to be fine. You don't need to worry about that."

Romeo started to express a small thought of doubt before Feliciano interrupted the conversation from a few rooms over.

"Fratello!"

Romulus frowned.

"Feliciano, don't yell."

The small Italian peeked around the corner followed by the oldest triplet.

"Sorry, nonno"

"You two are supposed to be washing up for dinner."

Feli dragged his foot on the carpet.

"I wanted to show fratello our room."

"Our?" Romeo whispered looking up and his grandfather. "We had separate rooms back out our old home."

Romulus sighed.

"Yes, I know that. You boys are staying in a room together for now, I thought you'd be happier like that. There's another empty room next to you that you may use when you boys get older and want a little more space. I just didn't want you getting lonely."

Romeo smiled slightly.

"We always crawled in bed with each other anyway."

With nod Romulus gestured towards the back bedrooms.

"Go put your bag away and we can have dinner before bed."

Romeo nodded and tried to pick up the backpack on the floor next to his feet.

"I got it!" both Feliciano and Romano chirped in unison.

They eyed each other suspiciously before darting towards Romeo at the same time. Feli made it first and triumphantly grabbed the bag before darting back to their bedroom.

"You don't have to..." Romeo's meek voice trickled off into a whisper.

Romulus chuckled and Lovino shook his head.

Romulus spoke first.

"You'll have to get used to that for a while. Your brothers are going to be really careful and protective of you for a while."

"Yeah, stupid head," Lovino said.  "You're our baby brother, we're not going to let anything happen to you."

"You don't have to do that, really," Romeo repeated meekly.

Romulus chuckled. "It'll all work out."

Romeo nodded quietly.

"Anyhow, I bought you and your brothers a present to make the house seem a little more like a home."

Romeo tilted his head to the side. "What is it?"

"Well you know how you three have always wanted bunkbeds..."

Romeo instantly darted towards the back rooms, brother in tow.

Romulus couldn't help but actually toss his head back in laughter.

"Sometimes I actually get things right."

* * *

 

Lovino woke up with a foot in his face.

With a grumble, he turned away from Feli, who had somehow turned around in his sleep.

He angrily gripped his pillow and slammed his face back down into it.

Maybe he could fall back asleep if he couldn't smell.

His plan was almost successful, when he heard a noise. Lovino flipped over quickly, about to tell off Feli for sleep talking, when he realized it was not Feliciano making the noise. It was coming from the top bunk.

Lovi strained his ears to hear the noise again. This time it came out clear.

Romeo was crying.

With that realization, Lovino's lecture died on his tongue just as quickly as it had appeared.

Gently shifting out of the larger bottom bed, he made his way up the ladder to Romeo's bunk. Unable to mask the noise of his feet hitting the steps, he was met by a wide eyed Romeo.

"Lovino? Oh I'm so sorry. Did I wake you?"

Lovino rolled his eyes and pulled himself all the way on the bed.

"No, Feliciano's stinky feet did that." The expression of worry on Romeo's face dropped in favor of a half smile. "Enough about me, why are you awake, and why are you crying?"

"What's going on?"

Both brothers looked down to see Feliciano staring up at them from the bottom bed.

"Romeo was crying."

"Shh! No I wasn't," Romeo whispered frantically.

"Yes you were. Now tell me why." Lovino could see the sadness in his brother's eyes as he refused to look up. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Romeo looked up, guilt filling his expression and Lovino rolled his eyes.

"Then come down here and tell us."

"Y-you mean you don't mind?"

"Of course not, stupid. I told you we're gonna look out for each other."

Romeo nodded and motioned for Lovi to climb back down the ladder.

Once they were all on the bottom bed, Lovi started the conversation.

"Why didn't you come down when you woke up?"

Romeo looked down.

"I didn't want to bother you. That's why you put me in the top bunk, right? So I wouldn't bother you two."

The two older brothers looked at each other in confusion and in unison chorused, "No!"

"But-"

"When you used to talk about getting one of these things you were always excited about sleeping on the top bunk."

"Oh," was all Romeo could manage.

"Do you want to talk about it? Your nightmare, I mean."

Lovi and Feli watched their brother as he clutched his left shoulder with his right hand.

"It was mom."

That was all his brothers needed to hear.

Feli immediately jumped up and ran over to one of the still full moving boxes to find Romeo's favorite stuffed animals. Meanwhile, Lovino grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from Romeo's bed.

After settling back down onto the lower bunk, the two eldest brothers wrapped the youngest in the softest blanket they had and prepared to listen.

Romeo attempted to escape their hardened gaze, but it only took moments before Feli's puppy dog eyes broke him down.

"I-I don't remember much, but I could feel her there, dad was with us too. Everyone was smiling and laughing. It was sunny and bright and everyone was happy, and, and..."

"Romeo!" The youngest brother was pulled out of his memory by his brother's stern shout. "Stop grabbing your bandages. Doesn't that hurt?"

Romeo glanced downtown where his right hand was clutching what was left of his left arm.  
He shook his head gently.

"No it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. But my arm feels...itchy."

"That's creepy," Feliciano whimpered. "You can still feel it?" 

Romeo nodded. "The doctor called it phantom pain."

"Wouldn't that be cool if you could still control it. Like, you could still color pictures while on the other side of the room," Feliciano whispered, eyes wide in awe.

"You wouldn't be able to see what you are coloring you idiot," Lovino said rolling his eyes. "You probably could find something cooler to do than that, like... _this!"_

Feliciano squealed as Lovino grabbed the back of his neck. Once Feli's shock wore off, the three dissolved into a fit of giggles. Just as they were catching their breath, there was a knock at the door.

"Boys?"

The triplets stiffened in unison as they realized they had woken their grandfather.

"Yes Nonno?" Lovino purred, adding a thick, false, sugar coating to his voice.

Romulus opened the door all the way and eyed his grandsons suspiciously.

"What are you three doing up so early?"

Feliciano and Lovino stumbled to make up and explanation when Romeo spoke up.

"I had a nightmare, well not a nightmare, but I woke up crying. Lovi and Feli woke up and tried really hard to calm me down."

Romulus' face softened from his stern gaze as he walked to the bed.

"Romeo, I-I know wasn't the most prominent person in your life before all this happened, but you can come to me if you need it. Next time you can come to me if you have a nightmare, all of you can."

The triplets nodded in unison.

"All right then. Are you ready to go back to bed now?"

"But-" Felicinano whimpered.

"No buts. You have school soon and you need to get used to sleeping now. It's a very different time than in Italy."

Romeo cocked his head to the side.

"Why?"

Romulus bit his lip for a moment trying to find a quick explanation but nothing came to mind. "Well...I'll tell you in the morning. It's late and again, you boys have school Monday. Get some rest."

The triplets nodded and started to get situated.

"Uh, Romeo."

The youngest sibling stopped mid way up the ladder to look at his grandfather.

"I didn't realize you were sleeping on the top bunk. Is it hard to climb up there with your arm?"

The child paused a second, eyebrows furrowed before he raised his right hand to look at it.

"What about my arm?"

Romulus froze and nervously stumbled over his next words.

"I mean is it hard to climb one handed."

"Yes."

"You don't have to climb up there. Your brothers can do that."

"Can we all just sleep down here?"

Both Romeo and Romulus looked over to see Feliciano looking at them expectantly.

"I don't see why not, I just bought the bunk bed for when you three want to be a little apart."

Romeo nodded and allowed Romulus to lift him down.

"Alright now, you boys get some sleep. You'll need your strength."

"Okay Nonno," the triplets chorused together.

* * *

 

"Lovino?"

The oldest triplet was startled awake again, this time by the youngest.

"What do you want Romeo? Does your arm hurt?"

"No, I just was wondering something."

Lovino rolled over to meet his brother's eyes. "What?"

Romeo bit his lip and fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt.

"Do you think I can still find my soulmate?"

Lovino rubbed his eyes. "What?"

Romeo continued fidgeting.

"Do you think I can still find my soulmate, w-with my compass gone?"

Lovino sighed. "Your soulmate's compass is still going to point to you. They'll find you even if you can't find them. That's what nonno said."

Below the sheets Lovi's fingers absentmindedly ghosted over the large crack in his compass.

Romeo smiled at his brother's warm words.

"Okay, now go to sleep, stupid. Nonno is going to be mad if he knows that we're awake."

Romeo nodded and snuggled down further into the sheets.

After a few minutes, Lovino finally heard Romeo's breathing even out.

With a low grumble, he mimicked Romeo's actions and got more comfortable.

"Goodnight, little brother." 

Then Romeo started snoring.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of Kindergarten. 
> 
> Oh boy.

Lovino stared, glassy eyed, at the board as the teacher droned on in Spanish. He was grasping bits and pieces where Spanish and Italian connected, but it was not all getting to him.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see most of the students watching the very monotone teacher, who had introduced herself as Ms. Martinez, with an unnerving amount of interest. 

Every once in awhile he noticed them nodding and mimicked the motion.

He missed Feliciano and Romeo so much. Every part of him wanted to be mad that they had managed to get moved together, but his heart wasn't in it. Romeo had someone with him and that was what mattered at that moment. At least that's what his proverbial angel on his shoulder was telling him.

The young Italian glanced again at the other students. What were they so happy about? This was so boring.

_And scary._

Lovino shivered.

It wasn't scary. It was kindergarten. All it was, was a bunch of strange new kids, and a really tall and strict looking teacher in a neighborhood he barely knew, and everyone was speaking a language he barely knew. Fun right?

His stomach churned and he pulled his crossed arms closer to him.

He gave up on trying to understand and started looking around the room.  
It was...colorful.Bright posters lined the walls. Random objects that should not have faces looked back at him with unnerving smiles.

Noticing the long line of letters on the wall, he recognized the English alphabet with a few Spanish letters mixed in.

Thankfully Nonno had thought about teaching the boys basic English months before they came to America. And even more thankfully, Lovino had picked it up very quickly. His brothers weren't so lucky with Romeo being under a lot of medication and Feliciano just being an airhead.

It seemed like it was going to all go down the drain as he was going to have to learn Spanish, then slowly get back to English the way this was going.

His mind was still drifting when suddenly he noticed everyone staring at him.

He frowned and was about to ask what was so interesting, when he realized the teacher had set a paper down on his desk and was speaking directly to him.

He glanced at the paper but the writing on it was in Spanish and he had no idea what it said.

He sheepishly glanced up at the angry looking teacher in silence.

She sighed and spoke again. _"¿Has estado prestando atención_?"

He flinched downward and tried imitating Feliciano's puppy dog eyes. Surely he could, they were identical were they not?

But his educator's gaze was unrelenting.

He gave up and tried a new approach.

"I have no idea what you are saying."

The older woman blinked in surprise. "¿ _Que_?"

Lovino resisted rolling his eyes.

"I am Italian not Hispanic. _Italiano._ You know, _pasta, pizza, Torre Eiffel?"_

The last words were a little too sarcastic for his age but he didn't care.

Obviously confused, Ms. Martinez tilted her head.

"You speak English?"

Lovino huffed angrily.

"Better than Spanish."

"Oh, what are you doing in my class then?"

Lovino's blood was about to boil over from pure frustration towards everything.

"Because your stinky boss thought it was a good idea to put me and my brothers in different classes just because we are triplets and apparently he doesn't understand that Italians don't speak Spanish!"

Angry tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. He ducked his head down not wanting to face his teacher.

"I'm sorry," he croaked out after a few seconds of silence. He really was. It was just so frustrating how stupid the adults were around him.

He kept his head ducked, awaiting and angry scold like his aunt would give him when he said something bad.

What he didn't expect was a gentle hand on his back.

"Lovino?"

He made another small murmur of apology.

Ms. Martinez crouched down to his level. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad. I thought you just weren't paying attention. Why didn't you tell me you didn't speak Spanish?"

Lovino shrugged quietly.

"Well, how about I go across the hallway and get some things from your brother's classes when I'm done with the lessons and we can get you started on that. Okay? Maybe when we have lunch you can go sit with your brothers.

Lovino nodded again, this time daring to look up.

This time instead of a stern glare, his gaze was met with a sweet smile.

She patted him again before straightening into a standing position.

"Thank you, _Bella."_

Ms Martinez looked down at the young Italian.

"What does that mean?"

Lovino pinched his eyebrows together.

"I don't know, it's what grandpa used to call grandma. He told me it was a complement you gave nice ladies."

Ms. Martinez's lips twitched into a slight smile.

"And you think I am a nice lady?"

Lovino nodded sheepishly.

"You remind me of my Grandma." His eyes sadly fixated on his desk. "I miss her."

The small smile turned to a frown as Ms. Martinez's cheery eyes turned teary.

"I heard about that. I'm very sorry it happened."

When Lovino didn't respond, she gently patted his back again.

"Give me a few moments to get the other students working and then I'll go across the hallway to get your papers."

She looked hopefully at her student.

He wasn't looking back.

Biting her lip slightly, she tried another tactic.

"And maybe while I'm over there I can see how your brothers are doing."

This time Lovino looked up, cautious optimism lighting his eyes.

"Okay."

\-----

She made good on her promise.

Making the short walk down the hallway, her shoes clicked loudly. She rounded the corner and automatically knocked on the door to Ms. Karpusi's classroom.

It was flung open with an alarming speed causing Ms. Martinez to stumble backwards a little.

"Maria!" the other teacher shouted with a little too much joy.

"Athena? What wrong you look...stressed."

And she really did. Her hair which had been tied back into a bun, was now down and pushed back to the side where she had been obviously running her fingers nervously through it. She slouched awkwardly against the door. Her eyes were much more tired than they should have been so early in the day.

Her demeanor was the last straw to tie it all together.

Her entire body lacked her usual commanding aura and now, she just looked frazzled. The older kindergarten teacher threw her hands up in frustration.

"I've been trying to tell this gentleman he has the wrong classroom for ten minutes. But he only speaks Spanish."

Ms. Martinez sighed and took her fellow teacher's hand in her's.

"I'll take care of it."

Gathering up her authoritative demeanor, she strutted into the room.

" _Excuse me_ _sir_ _, are you looking for the bilingual kindergarten class?"_

The older man turned to the sound of a familiar accent.

" _Yes ma'am. My grandson has Ms. Martinez."_

She nodded after noting the small child gripping the leg of his pants and gestured to herself.

_"_ _You are in the wrong room. I_ _am Ms. Martinez, I'll show you this way."_

She held the door for the older man and the child who was sticking close to his feet.

Before she shut the door, she threw an apologetic look back at Ms. Karpusi.

"I'll bring coffee during lunch."

"Appreciated!" the other teacher shouted back as Ms. Martinez let the door shut.

She gestured for the pair to follow her.

" _I'll get him settled before I go back to get something. What's his name?"_

 _"Antonio, "_ his grandfather responded.

Ms. Martinez nodded. " _He will love it here. The kids are so friendly."_

She put her finger to her lips, noting the obviously gentle demeanor of the Kindergartener and remembering another student.

" _Actually, I have a student who could probably benefit from having such a sweet friend."_

The boy's grandfather nodded.

" _I'm sure they'll make great friends_."

Ms. Martinez's eyes trailed back to Antonio. 

" _Let's hope so."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Antonio meets Lovino for the first time and things do not go well for either of them.

"I told you. _No hablo español."_

Oblivious to Lovino's stern words, the little girl continued prattling on, pointing at the piece of paper they were supposed to be drawing on.

He rolled his eyes and put his head on his desk. The comforting smell of crayon wax and the fresh paper had his eyes drooping in seconds.

Shaking off his drowsiness, he sat up and tried to flatten the wrinkled paper. A light repetitive sound attracted his attention.

He looked around the room slowly, once meeting the eyes of the random vice-principal watching their class for the moment.

Continuing his search, his eyes were drawn to the window. Outside it had begun to drizzle rain. As he watched, the droplets became heavier and came more frequently.

It wasn't often that he had time to enjoy the rain. 

The area of Italy they lived in did not often rain. At least not as often as he had seen in the time he had been here. But even when it had happened so far, it seemed only that the sky was crying. Now, it just seemed like rain.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed the girl trying to get his attention. A hard tug on his sleeve changed that. He was about to snap at her for bothering him when he noticed her pointing at the window.

" _Lluvia_ ," she said with a smile, as she wiggled her fingers for emphasis.

For a moment, Lovino studied her. 

She seemed nice. Just a tad pushy. And honestly, she was the first person to try and talk to him despite his nasty attitude. Language barrier be damned.

Pointing at the window, he forced a smile.

" _Poiggia. Molta poiggia_."

Beaming at his at him, it was painfully obvious that she was happy with his response. 

She was about to say something else when something on Lovino's arm caught her eye. He yanked it back a moment too late.

_"¿Tu brazo?"_

Lovino refused to look at her.

After a moment of her gently tugging on his sleeve, Lovino lifted his arm for her to examine. The light pressure as she trailed her fingers along the thick cracks in the face of the compass tingled almost painfully.

He dared look up after a few moments and resisted sighing. The clouds had apparently parted and were now illuminating his classmate as if she were naturally glowing.

Her raven-black hair soaked up the warm rays and shined like nothing he had ever seen. He sucked in a quick and blanked out for a moment.

"What if?" He thought to himself for a moment.

Trying to be subtle, he flipped his arm over and pulled it back a little. Subsequently, she reached for it again, revealing her own compass. His heart surged for a moment before dropping all the way down to his feet. 

It was pointing away from him. Not just away, but in the exact opposite direction.

He yanked his arm back and swiveled around back towards his desk. He was vaguely aware of her trying to figure out what was going on, but he was too busy sulking to try and explain.  
  


She finally gave up and went back to her worksheet.

Ignoring her cutting glares he lifted his arms into the desk.  
  


Shakily, his fingers traced over the cracks just as her's had. It strangely felt warm, and kind of itchy.

Maybe it was a sign. 

Maybe he wasn't meant to be loved.

* * *

 

" _Te amo."_

Antonio's lush green eyes sparkled as he chirped at his grandfather. 

" _I know Antonio, I love you too_ ," the older man said as he leaned down to pat his grandson on the head.

" _Remember what I said. Say please and thank you, do what Ms. Martinez tells you, and do you best to put a smile on everyone's face."_

He punctuated his advice with his own smile that only broke when he realized his grandson was not smiling back.

" _Antonio? What's wrong?"_

His attention caught again, Antonio looked up.

" _My compass itches,"_ he said with a small pout.

Antonio's grandfather was taken aback slightly and immediately concerned.

With a gentle hand, he brought Antonio's arm a little closer.

Just as suspected, instead of aimlessly spinning like it always had, it was diligently pointing towards the building, just slightly to the right.

With a low chuckle, Antonio's grandfather smiled his grandson.

" _Remember what I said about when you compass stops spinning_?"

The kindergartener's eyes widened. " _You mean she is in there_?

The older man nodded.

" _But what do I say to her?"_

" _Call her beautiful, and give her a big smile, it worked for me."_

Antonio nodded eagerly.

" _Alright little one, let's get you inside. We're late already."_

Quite painfully, he pulled himself out of the crouch he was standing in.

He stopped when he heard his grandson whisper, " _G_ _randpa_?"

Antonio's excited demeanor was obviously dampened.

" _Yes_?"

" _What if_ _my compass points_ _to her but her compass doesn't point to me?"_

His grandfather shook his head. "It _will, I promise._ _That's what tells you she loves you_ _."_

Antonio nodded gently. " _Okay, grandpa."_

" _Now let's get you inside, maybe your teacher won't be too mad if we are only a few minutes late."_

He gave his grandson one last gentle look.

" _It's going to be okay, I promise."_

* * *

 

The conversation immediately flitted through Antonio's mind the moment he saw who his compass was pointing at.

And it was not going to be so easy.

Instead of a pretty girl like his grandpa swore she was going to be, his soulmate seemed to be a grumpy little boy.

It took him a few moments to gather his courage and sneak away from his group. He noticed as he walked up, deep brown eyes watched him out of their corners.

" _Hello,"_ he said, voice barely a whisper.

The boy didn't turn around.

He cleared his throat.

" _Excuse me. My name is Antonio and uh, y-you're pretty."_

Immediately he could tell his grandfather's advice wasn't working when the boy frowned and glared at his paper.

" _Can you at least say something? It's very rude to ignore someone_."

The boy didn't even look over.

This was going to take more work than he initially thought.

* * *

 

"I don't want to talk to you. Leave me alone. You can not understand me anyway."

Completely oblivious to Lovino's bad attitude, the new boy smiled and sat down.

Letting out a low groan, Lovino went back to the tiny booklet they were supposed to be drawing in.

He had just finished the family page when he realized Antonio was staring at it. Quickly jerking it away, Lovino fixed his classmate with a glare. Antonio didn't seem to notice the deliberate action and began to reach for the project again.

Lovino's temper flared again this time too close to boiling over. 

"I said, leave me alo-"

His breath caught in his throat as gentle hands grabbed his arm. 

It tinged almost painfully. Pins and needles raced from the contact point all the way to his shoulder.

He yelped and jerked back his arm, much to Antonio's confusion.

Strangely, in that moment, his anger faded. But that didn't mean he wasn't still annoyed.

"You don't touch people without asking," he snapped crossing his arms and pouting.

Antonio simply tilted his head, pointed to his arm where his compass was and gave him a questioning look.

Lovino sighed and grabbed his booklet. Flipping forwards he found the page where he was supposed to draw a sad memory. He made a quick sketch(clumpy crayon drawing) and slid it to Antonio. 

Hopefully, his crappy picture would explain it to him. It was apparently effective as Antonio's concerned frown dropped into a teary pout.

"Now you know, so leave me alone," Lovino snapped.

He went to back to scribbling, probably pushing harder on the crayons than he should.

After a few minutes of silence, Lovino let himself relax. Maybe that annoying Spaniard had given up on bothering him.

He didn't dare look up in case Antonio was watching and took it as an invite to start talking again. 

He just needed to be alone for now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lovino can't control his emotions and it's going to be a problem.

The rest of the school day was oddly quiet. At least by Lovino's standards.

No Feliciano laughing or blathering about some cat he saw.

No Romeo trying to cheer him up. (But of course he wasn't sad or anything)

No Antonio.

Apparently what he had said scared off the poor guy. Oh well, it just meant he didn't have a headache. Right?

Lovino swallowed his guilt and unsuccessfully tried to push it down, forcing his attention back to the story their teacher was reading them.

It was going to be okay, he was going to meet Feli and Romeo after class, go have a great dinner, get moved into his brother's class, forget about Antonio and nothing would change. Right?

It wasn't until later that he realized he was very, _very,_ wrong.

* * *

 

"Lovi!" Feliciano squealed before running and hugging his brother.

Romeo was a bit slower but still gripped his older brothers in a fierce one armed hug.

The bell had finally rung, students of all shapes and sizes milled about or ran to the entrance to meet their parents.

Thankfully Lovino had found a small spot in the grass outside where he could wait for _Nonno._

"Okay, that's enough _idiota,_ " Lovino sighed in fake exasperation. 

He pointedly tried to hide the smile that threatened to break his false apathy. It was his guilty happiness, his brothers' hugs. Especially when he was feeling overwhelmed and drained at the same time, like today. 

Not that they would ever know that. Still, warmth and love bloomed through his chest chasing away any thoughts of a little dejected boy who he hadn't seen since the morning.

"It's only been a few hours, it's not like it's been forever," Lovino sighed, hoping his faked grumpiness could chase away the butterflies that had migrated from his stomach to his entire body making him giddy and kinda fuzzy, but uncomfortable at the same time.

The blank looks his brothers gave him were eerie, to say the least.

"What!?" Lovino snapped when they didn't say anything.

Feliciano's face finally shifted from its neutral expression to one of concern.

"Lovi, you're crying."

"I'm not!" He protested trying to shake off the emotions that were bubbling over and wipe away burning tears that definitely weren't there.

His two younger brothers glanced at each other for a second, a silent understanding passing between them.

"Okay Lovino, if you say so," Romeo sighed, his voice still sounding tired and barely above a whisper but full of the same concern his other brother held.

Before he could say more, the youngest sibling found himself wrapped in the gentlest but fiercest hug he had ever received from Lovino.

No more words passed between the triplets for the duration of their wait.

Lovino insisted he holds Romeo and Feliciano's hands until their grandpa arrived. ("It's because you run off too much, idiota.")

* * *

 

When Romulus finally got there, he didn't miss the way the two youngest somehow had mixtures of joy and nervousness on their faces. Or the way Lovino was holding onto them like if he let go they would fly away.

He tried not to let it get to him that Lovino was obviously lying to him when he answered the question, "Did anything interesting happen today?"

The one thing that really caught him off guard was when he told the boys that he got everyone moved to the same class. 

For a second, Lovino looked almost...sad.

* * *

 

Antonio's grandpa knew something was wrong the second his grandson got in the car. His posture, his silence, just the way he moved screamed that something was wrong. He looked meaningfully at him in the mirror but the little boy wouldn't even look up.

With a low sigh, he decided not to push it.

Whenever Antonio displayed one of his low moods, it was near impossible to get him to respond to anything.

It had only happened a few times before, when his dad had left, when his mom had died. Completely understandable situations for one to wish to be alone.

But this? This was weird. It had seemed like a normal day, the teacher hadn't called him so nothing notable had occurred. 

But whatever had happened, he knew that he had to be there for his grandson and when the little kindergartener was ready to talk he'd be ready to listen.

If only that instance wasn't probably going to happen until the weekend.

After they had reached the house and gotten safely inside, Grandpa Fernadez prepared to go back to the kitchen and start on dinner.

He really tripped over himself when behind him a tiny voice squeaked, " _Grandpa_?"

Antonio's eyes were watering, tears brimming as he tried to wipe them away.

" _What is it?"_

It took him a few moments to find his voice again, and when he did, his grandfather's heart threatened to shatter.

" _My soulmate doesn't love me."_

Stunned into silence, Grandpa Fernandez could only blink in confusion at his grandson who only half a day ago had been practically shaking in excitement at meeting his soulmate. 

Now it looked as if Antonio never wanted to hear that word again.

Even as a husband, father, and grandfather, he had always been a bit cold and oblivious to other's emotions. It's was always his wife who had been empathetic. He had gotten better after starting to take care of Antonio, but the small child's emotional reactions always startled him.

Swallowing his own confusion and fear, Grandpa Fernandez kneeled down and reached a tentative hand towards his grandson.

" _Do you want to talk about it_?"

Sniffling and rubbing his eyes, Antonio nodded and reached a hand out only to be scooped up in a hug.

Grandpa may be oblivious sometimes, but hug time was universal.

* * *

 

Once they were settled on the old couch, Antonio started babbling.

_"I saw him and I was so excited. He looked grumpy but I went up to him anyway because you have to be brave for the ones you love, right?"_

Grandpa Fernandez winced at the slightly out of context phrase he had used at Antonio's mother's funeral.

" _Right_ ," he mumbled.

" _Well, I went up to him and said exactly what you told me to_."

His face contorted in discomfort, as he realized he told his grandson to tell a boy he was beautiful.

_"I tried talking to him and he was really mean to me and told me to go away."_

Grandpa was so taken aback, he had no idea what to say. He had never, ever heard of a one-sided soulmate.

" _Sweetheart, are you sure he meant that?"_

_Antonio nodded._

_"Uh-huh. He said '_ leave me alone _'. I asked the teacher what that meant and when she told me, I got so sad I hid by her all day."_

It took his grandfather a moment to think of a response. The poor boy was so desperate someone to show affection to him (not that his grandfather didn't try), that he had invested a little too much into his grumpy soulmate.

Finally deciding on an angle of how to explain it, his grandpa gently asked him a question. " _Do you remember how you felt and when mama died? How you just wanted everyone to leave you alone and you got so angry all the time? Well, that happens to other people, too. They get so sad it makes them angry at the world for making them sad."_

Antonio dropped his eyes in what almost seemed like embarrassment. 

" _Now, you're sure he is your soulmate?"_

Antonio nodded.

" _My compass pointed right at him, even when I moved it."_

" _Well then, maybe I can talk to your teacher and she can have you two talk for a minute to figure everything out. What is his name_?"

" _L-Lovino_."

Grandpa Fernandez's eyes lit up with recognition. 

" _So I was right_."

His grandson gave him a quizzical look.

" _Lovino just lost his Mom, Dad, Grandma and almost lost one of his brothers on the same day. Just imagine how bad he feels."_

It didn't register until it was too late that Antonio had started crying again.

" _It's okay,"_ his grandfather murmured stroking his grandson's head.

" _N-No it isn't. Lovino is really s-sad and I got mad at him for it. I'm really mean!"_

" _Antonio,"_ his grandfather sighed again realizing something needed to be done fast so his vulnerable little grandson didn't cry himself to sleep.

" _How about this-"_ he started successfully halting Antonio's tears for a moment.

_"I have Lovino's grandpa's phone number. I could call him and ask for them to come over for a minute if you want to apologize."_

Antonio's face contorted in thought for a moment before his shook his head.

" _They are probably going to eat dinner soon and you're probably hungry too. I can talk to him at the school."_

His grandfather took a moment to thank every god and deity that his grandson had taken after his wife and not him.

" _Alright, but you have to talk to him. I will call your teacher and Mr. Vargas to check up on this."_  
Antonio nodded.

There was a thick silence when they both realized the other had nothing to say.

" _C-Can I help you with dinner?"_

At this point, Grandpa Fernandez's heart just bubbled over and one of his rare natural smiles broke open.

" _Of course what would you like_?" He asked as they stood up to walk to the kitchen.

Antonio's face scrunched up in thought for a second before widening Ito a smile. 

"Spaghetti!"

His grandfather blinked in confusion before turning back to his grandson.

" _I didn't know you liked Italian_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried really emphasizing the fact that Antonio isn't going to make Lovino's problems magically go away like in a lot of fics I read.
> 
> I also managed to write this entire chapter without giving Antonio's grandfather a first name.

**Author's Note:**

> Just the tip of the iceberg.


End file.
